[hr][h1][i]Interlude[/i][/h1] [hr] [i]... ........ ........... ............... .................... ........................... ..................................[/i] "Wakey, wakey..." A feminine voice said in a singsong. Awakening the person, and the first thing they see? A dark room, and a woman, with red hair, is staring right into his eyes. "[i]Megan Jervious. Damn pleased to meet ya'![/i]" She said, laughing as she stood straight up jogging around in a circle the room laughing like a child. What was most interesting was that she was running around operating tables - and most notably - with people tied to them. With a limb strapped to each corner, and has a... rather rustic power inhibitor collar on their necks. The room they were in seemed to be a nexus of some sort. The room was large, and there were plenty of hallways leading down into other rooms. "Hello there, [i]my[/i] lovelies! I am [i]Megan Jervious[/i] and I'm excited to announce that you all have been volunteered to participate in a [i]wonderful[/i] project that will surely bring in a [i]new age of super science![/i]" Megan loudly announced with enthusiasm on par with a motivation speaker of ecstasy. "Are you excited as [i]I[/i] am?!" She asked. "Enough with the theatrics, Megan." A voice that obviously belonged to a middle aged male said, emerging from the shadows. He stepped out of the shadows, wearing a hospital mask that did little to hide his large nose, or his brown eyes. He had tanned skin, and a balding head of hair. He wore a labcoat, and boots, along with rubber gloves. "This isn't a performance, this is [i]science[/i]." The man said. "[i]But Beeeeerlioz....[/i]" Megan gave Berlioz the puppy-dog eyes - literally, she shapeshifted to have them - before continuing, "... You never let me have fun! I got you all these lovelies ready to have fun!" "Ugh, you are so juvenile," Berlioz facepalmed, before putting an open palmed hand to Megan. "How the hell did you reach your rank within the Hands of Science?" "By being so fun!" Megan grinned like a child. The sound of wind being disrupted announced the presence of another party. Both Berlioz and Megan turned to one of the hallways, to see blurry air, and two glowing purple orbs that burned much like a fire, or a plasma. Those were apparently it's eyes. "Ghoul," Berlioz started off, "Have you located the girl yet?" The orbs moved from left to right, to intricate that no, he has not found their targets. "Damn it! How does she keep getting away?!" Berlioz asked - very rhetorically - slamming his fist on one of the operating tables. He growled, and pointed back down the hallway. "... [i]Then what the hell are you standing here for!? Get back out there and find her![/i]" The blurry air, and the orbs disappeared. "... Tsk, tsk,[i] tsk[/i], Berlioz," A woman, coming out of the shadows spoke in a mocking tone. She was amused about something. The second she revealed herself under the light, it showed that she had icy-blue skin, and had a heart tattooed on her right cheek. What was most interesting was her attire, she dressed like a cowboy with a brown duster, brown cowboy hat, cargo pants, and holding up those pants was a heavy belt that had two holsters - each with a high powered revolver in them - and various ammo pouches hanging off of them. Topped off by her combat boots. An unlit cigarette hung from her lips. "When will you stop sending amateurs after that girl and finally send me and my partners after them?" The woman said, quickly pulling out a silver lighter to set her cigarette ablaze. She put her arms behind her head, "We'd bag that bitch in no time." "Because you were [i]told[/i] not to." Berlioz responded. "Wow, I feel so attacked right now." The woman said, sarcastically. "Look, we were hired to help you capture some brats to experiment on: and you're not even letting us grab the big one. I mean, I know how giving other people powers is a big fucking deal to you guys - even if the bitch can only give Super System powers - so why don't you put a little [i]extra[/i] manpower into it, yeah?" The woman took a puff of her cigarette. The woman leaned in towards Berlioz, and gave him a cheeky smile, "And so far... your track record... which consists of [i]losing her[/i]... ain't lookin' all that good." Megan raised her hand, interrupting the woman by saying, "I lost her, [i]guilty as charged[/i]." With a cheeky smile on her face. "Talk about track record when [i]you[/i] are only here because your squad of psychopaths can't do their job right and have to ask [i]us[/i] for a job just so you can have some pock-" The woman pulled out her revolver at damn near super sonic speeds, and pressed it gently against Berlioz's jaw. Her expression was stern, and brutal. "Now listen here, [i]Berlioz....[/i]" ".... [i]H-heartbreaker, s-s-stop-[/i]" Berlioz spattered out globs of spit as he made his plea. "... I'm sure as [i]hell[/i] not like your pet freakshow in a trenchcoat," Heartbreaker put more pressure against Berlioz's jaw. "I'm not one of your HoS lapdogs, I'm a fucking Changeling. Got it memorized? And if you think some washed out has-been scientist will order me around like one, you got things-" What interrupted Heartbreaker was a gun being pressed against her head. Her eyes drifted to the side, to see Megan holding a gun - a glock - to her head. "... Megan, we both know that gun is fake." Heartbreaker groaned, letting the cigarette fall from in between her lips onto the ground - to which she crushed it with her boot. "So cut the bullshit already?" Megan took a step back, until the gun was at least five inches away from Heartbreaker's head. "[i]... Not until you smile![/i]" The "gun" shot out a flag that had "BANG!" on it, and poked Heartbreaker in the head. It retracted, before poking her in the head again. Growling loudly, Heartbreaker, quick as lightning, put the revolver that was against Berlioz's head back in the holster, then pulled out her [i]other[/i] revolver and put it to Megan's forehead. "Jesus Christ, stop doing that like you're some kid." Heartbreaker snarled. "... I only wanted to defuse the situation...." Megan moaned, and the gun went "limp", drooping downwards. Until it was reabsorbed back into her mass. Heartbreaker, similarly, put her own gun away, and crossed her arms. Letting out a sigh, and rolling her eyes. She, abruptly, turned halfway, and pointed at Berlioz, hissing, "And for your information, I'm only here because the good old Changeling business hasn't been as good as it used to be." She stepped in closer, poking Berlioz in the chest as she continued, "If a paycheck wasn't stopping me, I'd blow a hole in your chest and[i] spit in it[/i], but [i]for now[/i] I'm working [i]with[/i] you." Heartbreaker's demeanor became much more relaxed, letting out a sigh. She took a few steps back, and adjusted her belt. "Damn that felt good!" Heartbreaker said with a wry grin. She leaned up against one of the operating tables, and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it and smoking. Afterwards, she went from leaning against the table, to sitting on it, hunched over. 'Course, she couldn't enjoy the quiet for too long. One of the subjects, Aiden Cross, burst out of his restraints, transformed into his half-dragon state. He quickly got up and began running down the hallway. Naturally, Heartbreaker pulled out of one of her revolvers and pointed it at Aiden. "Wait, no!" Berlioz shouted, grabbing Heartbreakers wrist and pointing it downwards. "You might miss and hit one of the subjects!" "I might [i]miss[/i]? Man you're rude as hell." Heartbreaker spat out, insulted. "Don't worry..." Berlioz assured Heartbreaker. "... [i]Nemesis will get him.[/i]" [hr] Down the hallway, Aiden was rushing through the mazelike halls of the base. Hoping to find an exit, he found a pair of large doors that [i]looked[/i] like an exit down an otherwise empty hallway. Before he grabbed onto the knobs, and pulled onto it with all of his strength. Yet, that wasn't enough. He put a foot onto it, and pulled harder. ... Glowing bright red eyes flashed for a brief moment, before disappearing and fading into the darkness. Heavy footsteps could be heard slowly approaching, and Aiden turned around. He couldn't see, but he knew something he didn't want was coming. He huffed, and breathed a stream of fire - revealing a gigantic man over seven feet tall, very wide and strong looking, wearing a brown longcoat that went down to his ankles, gloves, and a head obscuring gas mask with red lens that showed not a trace of face, or humanity. The fire burned the man's longcoat, but he seemed otherwise unaffected. Given how he closed the distance, and delivered a punch to Aiden's abdomen so hard that he flew backwards and bounced off the door (which did nothing to it). After the thunderous boom of his impact, Aiden shook his head, and quickly moved in for a punch towards his attackers face - which was intercepted by the aggressor grabbing onto his hand, and swinging him around to the wall behind him, creating another monstrous roar on impact. However, the man wouldn't let go of Aiden for a second, the moment Aiden recovered, he tried to rush him, only to be met to a punch to the abdomen that sent him flying down the hallway, and - you guessed it - he slammed against the wall at the end of the hallway so hard that it cracked. Spit and blood came flying out of Aiden's mouth. He was on his last legs, but the man... the thing... wouldn't stop. It continued down the hall, and by the time Aiden got off the wall, it was right there. Standing right over him. It delivered one punch against Aiden's face with one large fist, then another with the other. Punching him over and over again, changing hands each time. One last solid punch to the nose made Aiden sprawl backwards. He regained his composure - only to be snatched by the leg and heaved into the wall at full force, and bouncing off again. And he wasn't even given a [i]chance[/i] to recover before his head was lifted off the ground, and slammed into the ground at full force. Which was the final blow. Aiden was merely knocked unconscious. Holding him by the head, the large man carried him back to his master like a dog would bring a stick. [hr] Dragging Aiden back to Berlioz merely got a nod from his master. "Ooooh, what a good lapdog!" Megan said, kicking a leg back. "Can you make me one?" "No, Nemesis here is the last of his kind... and my finest work, despite being flawed. He embodies my work to create the perfect Metahuman." Berlioz said, "He [i]would[/i] have been mass produced if my works weren't rendered... irrelevant by the Hands of Science figuring out how to give people powers." "How the hell did Dragon-dildo over here use his powers if he has the collar on?!" Heartbreaker asked, dumbfounded, and with her shoulders shrugged up high. "Weren't those collars supposed to [i]stop[/i] fucking powers from working?!" "[i]Ugh.[/i] They're rather faulty." Berlioz groaned, "My superiors gave me a few [i]defectives[/i]. [i]Ugh![/i]" "... And you talk down to me like you're some sort of master when you don't even have good equipment. Tsk, tsk, tsk." Heartbreaker taunted Berlioz, sticking out her tongue. "Oh you shut up!" Berlioz said. Megan kept that grin on her face, it was almost unnerving, "Well, that was fun, but you look mighty busy tonight, so I'll adjourn." Megan took several footsteps backwards, and turned into a messy silvery-colored blob of organic substance. Flying down the hallway at high speeds. "And I'm bored. Later, Berlioz." Heartbreaker said as she walked down the hall. That just left one thing. "[i]Nemesis[/i]," Berlioz snapped his fingers as he began walking down the hall. After three steps, he ordered his massive minion, "He is expendable,[i] dispose of him[/i]." Nemesis's focus went from Berlioz to the bloodied Aiden. He put both hands on each side of Aiden's head, his palms alone nearly covered his head, and Nemesis's fingers interlocked. His life was in his hands, everyone they kidnapped was watching, and one simple act of strength would surely spell his end. Which is exactly what happened. The loud sound of bones being shattered, and certain organs being squished, filled the room before the screams of horror become the dominant sound in the room. In less than a second, Nemesis crushed Aiden's skull to the point where there was nothing left to even [i]identify[/i] him with. Only crushed pieces of the dragon child. Both hands were together, smeared with blood. What was left of the mess was dropped onto the ground, and Nemesis turned around and simply walked off into the hallways of their base. No one knew what was underneath the mask. Is it human? [i]Was it human?[/i] This was merely the start of a new age of terror. [hr][h1]Act II:[/h1][hr] [b][u]9:23 AM[/u][/b] Unlike most Verthaven days, the sun was obscured by the grey clouds in the sky. The day was still warm as ever (just slightly less), but it wasn't as sunny as the city was advertised. Of course, . [hr][h1][i][color=Red]Meifeng Vuhong[/color], Lin, & Mika Baozai.[/i][/h1] [hider=Gorillaz - DoYaThing Outro][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9nC1jUzAnA[/youtube][/hider][hr] In the aftermath of the party... it was a little crazy. Almost everyone there was passed out on the ground in various hilarious positions. For example Drake was hanging off the chandelier wearing a wedding dress, the same lampshade on his head. In particular, Meifeng was on the roof of the beach house, passed out. Lying down with her arm wrapped around a potted plant, and the other hand full of assorted female underwear. Loudly snoring, and drooling. Barely half awake with not a care in the world. Whenever she opened her eyes, she'd get assaulted by the morning's light rays and instinctively close her eyes. Though, the pain of the fight that took place last night was catching up like hell. Her face and stomach hurt mighty hard... and probably would be better if she went home and put some ice on it. Two footsteps that approached - and stood over her - largely went ignored until one got close, and started tugging on the girl lightly. "Meifeng, hey, Meifeng... wait up." A very familiar voice spoke to her as she came to - and [i]God[/i] her head hurt. "Yeah, yeah..." Meifeng said, quick to slap a hand onto her forehead as she got up. She was slow to open her eyes, and once she did, she saw her cousin, Lin. Giving her a look - a special kind of look. The one that said "Oh, you fucked up, but I want to tell you in a nice way!". Bullshit. "Maaaan, that was one crazy ass party...." She moaned, looking around. The next thing she saw was her much bigger cousin, Mika. Arms crossed and giving her the good old evil eyes. "... [i]Miiiiiiiiikaaaaa[/i]-" "No." Mika quickly snapped, cutting Meifeng off. "... Do you realize what time it is, and, more importantly, where you are?" It took one look around for Meifeng to realize it. "[i]Oh shit! I'm still at the beach house![/i]" She screamed, putting her hands on the side of her head with her eyes wide. "Exactly, you never made it home." Mika said, with the most neutral expression on her face. "[i]How-ever[/i], I've... as you'd say, "covered" for you." Mika quickly reached into her black purse, and pulled out - not her own but Meifeng's - cell phone. Effortlessly getting past Meifeng's code lock, and showing Meifeng a series of texts that Mika sent. Meifeng leaned in a little in order to see. "As you can see, I told Lihua that you were going to dinner with us, and that you decided to spend the night." Mika coldly said in a matter-of-fact way. "Now, I talked to Lihua, and she wants to meet us for breakfast later." "How do you know my pass- wait, nevermind." Meifeng let out a sigh of relief, that Mika had convinced Lihua that she wasn't at a party. Meifeng started going through the underwear she had collected, probably out of boredom. Until she raised an eyebrow. "Ooooookay, waaaaait..." Meifeng pulled out one pair of plaid boxer briefs... that she was wearing when she got here. "Then what am I-" Meifeng leaned forward a bit, pulling up her skirt slightly - before stopping, realizing how inappropriate that was. More and more questions were popping up, and ending with Meifeng asking, "What the hell happened last night?" "[i]Well[/i]...." Lin said, trying to find a good way to put it. "Actually; no, I don't wanna know." Fortunately, Meifeng was quick to go back on her question. The first thing the girl did was grab a bottle of vodka that was lying around, and just randomly started downing it. "What, are you [i]trying[/i] to kill yourself?!" Mika shouted as she snatched the bottle of alcohol out of Meifeng's hand. "Nope..." Meifeng started, smacking the top of her mouth with her tongue. "[i]... Just trying to kill anything inside of me.[/i]" Mika and Lin were dumbfounded, looking at Meifeng like she just killed a man. Mika in particular was facepalming. "... Know what? Let's just go." Mika suggested, and everyone nodded in silent agreement. As a group, they headed down the stairs into the living room where the party once took place.... [hr][h1][i]Jake, Gabe, Sylvia, Johnny, Lin, Mika, & [color=Red]Meifeng[/color].[/i][/h1][hr] ".... Mhmm, yeah, uh-huh," Jake said into the phone in a near endless loop of those three words. Until he pleaded, "Can you at [i]least[/i] send Jaska back?" To which got a very audible no. "Alright then... bye." Jake then hung up the phone, and turned back to see his twin sister, Gabriela, hunched forward on the couch with a hand on her head. "... So what did he say?" Gabe asked. "Well... He said we have to "find our own damn way home"." Jake made sure to finger quote. "Because he's kinda pissed that we stuck around in Verthaven. And that we're just not cool enough. And he's also really pissed that we blew up a store last night. And Johnny apparently talked to him earlier and told him that he looks like a saggy testicle. Also we're not cool enough." To which made Gabe loudly groan. "Great... we're trapped in a hellhole that bloody terrorists tore apart." "Heeeeey, look at the brightside," Jake took a few steps towards Gabe, "We're in a fancy house on the beach, what can go wrong there?" "Everything." Gabe said, "... I just want to get back to Black Fall, okay?" "Well, that's going to be [i]real[/i] har-" "[b][i]ROADTRIP, BITCHES![/i][/b]" Johnny shouted, as he kicked down the front door, holding two brown bags of groceries with his forearms as he walked in. When he stepped in, Sylvia squeezed in from behind him and stood at his side. "[i]No.[/i]" Both Gabe and Jake said in unison. "Oh, why not?" Johnny started off, smiling widely enough to flash his gold tooth. "I scored us a ride and everything!" He stepped off to the side to let Gabe and Jake see a black 2015 Ford Explorer that was parked in view of the door. "... We just need to get out of here before jackass I took it from comes looking for it." Johnny pulled his collar. "It'll be great! We'll head onto every fucking city and have ourselves a party in each of them. [i]Everyone[/i] will get some booty." "Well, for starters," Jake leaned over and looked through the door. "[i]That isn't big enough for all of us.[/i]" "... And where the hell are we supposed to sleep?" Gabe asked. "Then we're not fucking leaving Verthaven," Johnny said, shrugging, "Unless Jakey here blows a pilot." "Hey! Why me?!" Jake asked, putting his fingers onto his chest. "Because it's not funny unless it's [i]gay[/i]." Johnny retorted. Gabe started laughing, crossing her arms. "Yeah, ain't that true." Three sets of footsteps were walking down the spiral stairs, and the Valos turned towards them to see the Baozais, and the sole Vuhong. They stood in a triangle formation the second they got down, with Meifeng behind them - who was looking at her phone at the moment. She sent a quick text to Anna, [i][u]Anna! enjoyed the party with u! :D but where did u go girl? ttl[/u][/i] "Hey," Jake started off, waving at them. "It seems that all the rednecks are all worn out... pitiful." Mika said to the group. "I hope you Valos have a place for us to stay?" "Well, no." Jake said. "We're... kind of in the same situation." He shrugged... and every word hurt his pride. Mika rolled her eyes. "Excellent, I'm sure getting trapped in this [i]warzone[/i] of a city was worth this stupid party." "Heeeeeey Mika, no one invited you in the first place." Johnny pointed at Mika. "So quit your bitching." "In case you've lost all brain cells, I was." Mika retorted. "By who?" Johnny asked. "[i]My sister.[/i]" Mika answered. "I came only because I wanted to make sure she was safe." "Now, that's just insulting," Johnny huffed, "You don't trust the good old Valos security?" "Yeah!" Meifeng intervened. "Why didn't you just call your cousin if you needed some [i]security[/i]?" She shrugged her shoulders up. "See what I did to those bitches last night?" "Everyone did Meifeng," Mika rolled her eyes, "you don't have to brag about it." "Um, where is this conversation going...?" Jake asked Gabe. "Gotta say, your guess is as good as mine." Gabe said. "Yes, you have to be a stereotype." Johnny taunted. "Hey, look who's talking, dressing up like you're some pimp. That you're cool." Meifeng hissed, pointing at Johnny. "Gasp." Johnny said deadpan, putting a hand on his chest, "You have hurt my feelings." "Know what? This is pointless; me and Lin are going to stay at my aunt's house until we can get back to Black Fall." Mika announced. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself, Mika?" Meifeng put her hands up. "No, I've already discussed this with your mother over texts; she said yes." Mika said. "Greeeeeeeeeeat...." Meifeng hunched forward and let her arms drop. This was the start of something mediocre [hr][h1][i][color=green]Michelle Brianna Gallus[/color] & The Agents of NEST[/i][/h1][hr] Lined up against the walls were a squad of NEST Agents (Which included Michelle Gallus), all bunched up next to a door, and on the other side was a team of National Guard soldiers. Both sides were heavily armed, and ready to push into a known Fiend crackhouse; an abandoned apartment in the Iron District. One National Guard soldier pointed at Michelle, then made a rectangle (without the bottom) in the air with the same hand, then pointed at the door. Michelle put her hand up, and formed a ring with her index and middle finger. Michelle approached the door, and put her ear up against it. Michelle put her hand in the air, and made her ring finger and thumb touch, with the rest of her fingers in the air, and made the hand signal to reference enemies. The National Guardsmen pointed to the door again, and on signal, Michelle took a step back and kicked the door down, and sent it flying into the room. "Everyone freeze!" Michelle shouted as she pushed into the room with her AA-12 in hand, pointing it. What was before her was a hallway with several apartment doors, and not too far down the hallway was a staircase, with a hallway off to the side. The yellow wallpaper on the walls would be stained with blood soon. There were two Fiends on the staircase, and one reached for his gun. "Put the gun down!" Michelle shouted, pulling the trigger and a couple rounds of rubber bullets came out of the gun, and hit his jaw so hard that it broke ([i]NON-LETHAL WEAPONRY[/i]). He fell backwards, and his buddy got the right idea turning tail and going up the stairs. She'd capture him later. After the scene, the rest of the NEST and National Guard Agents came pouring into the building behind her. Kicking down the doors, and apprehending any Fiends, with and without lethal force. Michelle quickly moved over to the steps, and dragged the unconscious Fiend out of the line of fire as she put cuffs on him. She heard footsteps above her approaching fast, and she quickly grabbed her shotgun. A group of three Fiends, pumped up on the mutagen (One had armored skin like an insect, another had electric hands, and the last had flaming legs), up to the stairs. "I'm going to cook ya' and eat ya'!" The Fiend with the flaming legs jumped down the stairs, swinging his legs wildly in some attempt to hit Michelle. She simply stepped out of the way and swung her arm out and launched him into a way, incapacitating him. The other one was already running down the stairs, trying to grab Michelle, but only met a hail of rubber bullets which knocked him on his ass. Which left the last man... who was running up behind the other mook. He rammed Michelle, which admittedly, make her take a few steps back to regain her balance. She quickly swung her fist at him, and left one hell of a dent in his armor. He went down quickly. Michelle was about to apply cuffs when a storm of gunfire overwhelmed her hearing. Fortunately, it was on the second floor. Her radio began blaring, "I am pinned down!" Agent Volkov said into the comms. "I'm on the second floor, I need help!" "I'm on my way!" Michelle shouted, quickly running up the stairs, and, well, following the sounds of the bullets. Until she saw Alek Volkov holding a shield of crystals, which was getting shred to bits by the bullets. She didn't waste time in grabbing a tear gas grenade and throwing it over Agent Volkov. The Fiends scattered (just as she planned), giving Agent Volkov a moment to backwards retreat. National Guardsmen pushed by Michelle, and pursued the fleeing Fiends. Michelle noticed that the bullets were stopping. "Building has been cleared all Fiends have been apprehended." Ariela spoke through Michelle's comm's. "Affirmative." Michelle said, grabbing onto her comm. "Good work." Michelle walked down the stairs, and cuffed the Fiends she had disabled, and pulled the rest outside. Where there were tons of VPD, National Guard Members, and NEST. Captured Fiends were lined up against the wall, and being put into vans. What was most interesting was that people were carrying drugs and mutagen out by the boatload. This was a major blow against the Fiends. Michelle put her shotgun behind her by the strap, and began walking through all of this. She'd have plenty to report back to the base. [i]"... Look out!"[/i] A National Guard member shouted, but it happened far too fast for Michelle to react. A massive glob of a black sludge came from high up above, and hit a police van... which dissolved the metal and created a bright yellow gas that quickly spread outwards as the sludge melted the vehicle. Michelle covered her face, and shouted, "Everyone get back!" She started running out of the way, and barely realized that another glob had hit another vehicle creating more gas. Unfortunately, it was right next to a crowd of NEST Agents - including Agent Volkov, and Agent Carl. They didn't have time to react before the yellow gas consumed them, burning their outside and inside as the gas entered theirs system. Only sounds of them choking to death could be heard. It wasn't long before they dropped dead from the toxic chemical. "There!" A NEST Agent shouted, and pointed at a rooftop of a convenience store where across the street, Sulfur, a Fiend lieutenant was perched. Everyone with a gun (Michelle included) pointed their guns at the roof - unfortunately she ran out of the line of sight - and opened fire. "I'm not letting her get away!" Michelle shouted, as she began a powerful sprint after the Fiend lieutenant.